The Garden of Eden - or Santa Monica

One of the many unfortunate things about living in an apartment is not having a garden. Today we spent time in the community gardens and are now thinking about putting our name on the waiting list for a little bit 0'land.

My dad is a Master Gardener and has a mini greenhouse in his basement. So perhaps with his tutelage, if we do acquire a plot in the community garden, we could grow our own veggies and some California poppies (my favorite). Froggy could have her own little space for digging up treasures, ya know, rocks and twigs, and the occasional bug.

We're off to the Grandparents in the mountains. So get ready for some hiking pictures.

Froggy's Office

Froggy loves pretending to work. Now if I could only teach her to do my invoicing!

This was a real conversation:

Froggy: Hellooooooo?

(long pause - I guess while the imaginary person talks to her?)

Froggy: Hmmmhmmmm. (laughs loudly, at the imaginary person's hilarious joke)

(another pause)

Froggy: Gabaaaolaa hmm baba baby, mmmmhmmmm. Bye.

She keeps her conversations brief while on the clock. I am paying her 13 Cheerios an hour.

Let me just check my schedule. Mmmmhhmmmm. I'll pencil you in for a Friday lunch. Ciao!

Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bath Water

Today:

Wake up to baby crying, just plain unhappy.

Husband mad at me, won't say why.

Mommy eats chocolate cake for breakfast and doesn't feel at all bad about it.

Dirty house. Dishes to do.

Breakfast, treatment, baby won't nap.

Mommy cleans.

Baby won't eat lunch, throws spaghetti across the room, at the dog, at Mommy.

Baby throws broccoli across the room, at the dog, at Mommy.

Mommy says, "Stop it," a little too loudly. Baby looks sad.

Mommy makes a milk bottle for third nap attempt.

Dog pees on the floor.

Baby slips and falls in the pee.

Mommy gives baby a bath. Baby splashes like a crazy girl. Everyone is soaked.

Baby is now in the crib, talking, climbing, reading, singing, with no sign of ever, ever, ever going to sleep.

Mommy has taxes, paperwork, and a job to do.

Anyone want a dog?

And two cats?

And a husband?

I'm only keeping the baby - who just fell asleep.

Can HIV Cure CF?

A very interesting article to read.

What a time to be alive!

A Couple Great Poems

Poems: "Essential" and "Employed" by Beverly Rollwagen, from She Just Wants. © Nodin Press.

Essential

She just wants to keep her essential sorrow.
Everyone wants her to be happy all the time,
but she doesn't want that for them.
There is value in the thread of sadness in each person.
The sobbing child on an airplane,
the unhappy woman waiting by the phone,
a man staring out the window past his wife.
A violin plays through all of them,
one long note held at the beginning and the end.

Employed

She just wants to be employed for eight hours a day.
She is not interested in a career;
she wants a job with a paycheck and free parking.
She does not want to carry a briefcase filled
with important papers to read after dinner;
she does not want to return phone calls.
When she gets home,
she wants to kick off her shoes
and waltz around her kitchen singing,
"I am a piece of work."

The Iowa Zoo

This is my 100th post! I wonder if blogger will send me a toaster as a prize?

These pictures are from Friday, when we went to the Blank Park Zoo in Iowa.

Froggy was really impressed by the lions and tigers and "RROAARED!" at them. It was very scary. The lions and tigers were terrified of this 18 month-old's ROOOOAAAR, and expressed their fear by completely ignoring us and going about their kitty business.

There are more Iowa pics to come, but I'm having computer issues, so maybe in the next week or so.

I will be busy fundraising for the next week, so forgive my infrequent and boring posts! And that's a big 'hint hint' to donate!!! And if you live in the LA area and haven't signed up to walk with us, please join our team. We have so few people walking this year, and we need your help!

Click HERE to donate!!!

We're Baaaaack

From Iowa!

After a full day of traveling with a toddler (don't forget the 2 hour layover in Denver) I'm too tired to write.

I will say...we had a great time. And as always, it went by too quickly.

Froggy was thrilled to see her dad and was so excited running around outside, that she did a face-plant right into the cement. She has a huge goose egg on her forehead and a scraped nose. I thought she had leapt out of her dad's arms, so my reaction was HUGE. But she only fell from her own height. Whew! And the tough little monkey only cried for a minute. I wish I could say the same for her sappy parents.

And I'm now off to bed at 8pm (10pm Iowa time).

A Froggy's Love

This is a picture of me trying to scrub the kitchen floor. Froggy has been a little clingy. And when I say clingy, I mean "hopping on my back like a little tree frog" or "riding my leg" as I walk through the house 'clingy'. She NEEDS love. I think she's actually licking my back in this photo.

I believe her new insecurity is a result of teething and realizing she and I are not actually the same person. If I leave the room for two seconds to use the restroom or put laundry away, Froggy stands at the baby gate screaming while huge tears stream down her face. And she's just recently started crying "Maaammmaaaa! Maaaaaamaaaa!" like I just dropped her off at baby boarding school or told her that "we should spend some time apart and that I'd like to see other babies." It breaks my heart because she is so sincere and I see how devastating even a little distance is for her.

I shower with the door open, curtain open, playing peek-a-boo between rinses and singing "Old MacDonald" at the top of my lungs, if only to stave off the crying for a three minute shower. I'm not even the type of person who enjoys solitude, but today as I sneaked into the bathroom, two cats ran in with me, and then the dog, followed by a baby. I looked down at them like, "this must be love." There are just moments when I really do enjoy solitude and the bathroom is one of those moments.

Froggy is IN LOVE with Froggydadda and I. After dinner tonight, while taking her out of the highchair, she hugged me with fierce loyalty and then whispered, "dadda, dadda, dadda." I laughed because it was like she was telling me, "I'm really thinking of dadda when I hug you."

On Friday, Froggy and I fly to Iowa for a week with family. I hate to take her from her Dadda, but hope the lure of my baby-crazed family and Ruby the dog, will be enough to keep her satisfied.

Sometimes the love between parent and child is so powerful, it's daunting. I remember in first grade sobbing, "I want my mommy!" And nothing could have appeased me. I wanted my mommy. Case closed. And when Froggy screams "Maaaaammmmmma" every time I stray five feet from her, I understand. On one hand I feel like a Siamese twin desperately trying to live a separate life from a person with whom I share a liver and spleen, and finding it just impossible to do so. And on the other hand, I feel...completely loved.

A Day With Senator Harkin

Saturday, Mieke and Rafael (pictured above) hosted a gathering for Iowa Senator Harkin, who was fundraising, but also visiting his daughter and grandson in LA.

It was a great afternoon and that's all I'll say about that. I'm done discussing politics.

The Froggydaddy's Toothache

Froggydaddy had his tooth pulled today after sitting in a dentist's chair for three hours. When they told him it would be $1,000 to fix it, he said, "pull the sucker." And for $62.00, the USC School of Dentistry did just that.

We're too poor for a "certified" dentist these days, so it was either that or drinking a few shots of bourbon, tying the molar to a door and slamming it closed. FD isn't sure what option would have hurt more. Poor guy.


The Crocodile's Toothache

The Crocodile went to the dentist,
And sat down in the chair,
And the dentist said, "Now tell me, sir,Why does it hurt and where?"
And the Crocodile said, "I'll tell you the truth, I have a terrible ache in my tooth,"
And he opened his jaws so wide, so wide,
That the dentist, he climbed right inside,
And the dentist laughed, "Oh isn't this fun?"
As he pulled the teeth out, one by one.
And the Crocodile cried, "You're hurting me so! Please put down your pliers and let me go."
But the dentist just laughed with a Ho Ho Ho,
And he said, "I still have twelve to go-- Oops, that's the wrong one, I confess,
But what's one crocodile's tooth, more or less?"
Then suddenly, the jaws went SNAP,
And the dentist was gone, right off the map,
And where he went one could only guess... To North or South or East or West...
He left no forwarding address.
But what's one dentist, more or less?

Shel Silverstein (1932 - 1999)

My Wild Kingdom

Men Are From Mars, And It's Time They Go Home - a short play

After a tough morning of every-man-for-himself, this was a real conversation between Froggydaddy and myself. By tough morning, I mean, we're both not feeling well. FD has a major toothache (probably in need of a root canal). I have had a sinus infection that has spread to my ears, and we both desperately needed sleep. Froggy, however, was WIDE awake at 6am. So for the next hour in bed, FD and I played the pathetic game of "who is more sick."

Meanwhile Froggy is leaping over us in bed, screaming for Buddy to join in, by slapping her knee and yelling "BUUUUUEYYYYY, BUUUUUEEEYYYY." Finally, FD looked over at me with the most Charlie Brown look I've ever seen and he said, "please?" So up we went. FD is always so great about getting up with Froggy in the morning. It's his favorite part of the day, and they usually let me sleep an extra hour. I figured he deserved the rest...until he awoke at 10am and...

MEN ARE FROM MARS - AND IT'S TIME THEY GO HOME.

The baby has been fed and quietly naps, the dishes are done, kitchen swept, respiratory treatment finished, dog walked, and it's only 10am.

Froggymama enters from the outside door. She carries a load of laundry. Froggydaddy enters the room in a towel. His hair is wet, and he knocks the water out of his ears.

Froggymama: I'm really not trying to complain...

Froggydaddy: Yeah?

Froggydaddy begins to roll his eyes, but changes strategies. He remembers his wife let him sleep in, even though she's very, very, very sick. It's a smart move. And Froggymama, like a praying mantis retreats a step.

Froggymama: Your shoes were in front of the door again.

Froggydaddy: Oh.

Froggymama: They're always in front of the door...everyday.

Froggydaddy: Hmmm.

Froggymama: Can you put them along the wall, so I don't step on them?

Froggydaddy ponders this HUGE inconvenience, so rudely asked of him.

Froggymama: Everyday I trip over your enormous shoes. Everyday.

Froggydaddy: You'd think by now you would've learned to step over them.

A long beat, while Froggymama is caught somewhere inbetween laughing or with one swift kick, knocking this cowboy back to Mars where he obviously belongs.

Froggymama: You are soooo going in my blog today.

End of play.

I WANT TO:

Raise a million dollars for Cystic Fibrosis Research.

Have the world’s biggest party when we learn of the cure for CF.

Listen to more Aretha Franklin.

Snorkel off Antigua Island.

Read a fabulous novel.

Travel to India.

Go on a date with my beautiful husband and have a delicious gourmet meal, including dessert and cappuccino.

Spend a weekend in San Francisco with Tina, dancing and hanging with the seals.

Travel to New York, see five shows off and on- Broadway, take a long walk through Central Park, hit the St. Marks book stores and visit friends at coffee shops and have amazing Indian and Italian food.

Travel to the South of France and sip wine, eat lots of cheese and pastries and take pictures at the Farmer’s Markets.

Go on a bike ride to the beach with my husband and baby.

Have a clean and organized home.

Get my haircut.

Write a script that makes a million bucks.

Get published in a magazine.

Have my friend “J” and “S” move into my apt. complex, so we can have coffee in the morning and a beer at night.

Take more bubble baths.

Write poetry.

See my family more than a few times a year.

Live somewhere green and rainy.

Have 8 hours a day to write!

Hire a nanny, maid and personal asst. so I can have the time to enjoy my baby, write my heart out, and live in a cleaner home.

Have the body I had when I was sixteen.

Have my parents live forever.

Get a massage that lasts until I say they can stop!

Stop worrying.

Know that everything will be okay.

Feel successful as a writer.

Be a better wife.

Bitch less. (this goes with the one above)

Clean out the car port.

Pet my cat Piper more.

Have patience with people.

Go back to Russia and visit my old friends.

Spend a day taking pictures of silly things.

Gather wildflowers, dry, and hang them in my house.

Start and finish Froggy's photo albums.

Make the world a better place for my family, friends and everyone else.

Volunteer more.

Write letters to major corporations to fund research for CF.

Be the very best mama I can be.

Keep my family safe and happy.

Write more, write more, write more, write more, write more!!!

Learn how to cook food that's edible and nutritious.

Find the very best doctors for Froggy.

Learn Reiki, to help heal my baby.

Go camping, wake up to the sounds of birds, leaves whistling in the breeze and breathe the mountain air!

Relax, enjoy the moment, breathe and enjoy this life.

Not take life so seriously.

Practice Yoga, swim every other day, and feel comfortable in my body.

Have more moments where I feel connected to the people I love and the world I share.

Feel a sense of peace every morning.

These pictures were from our walk today.

How's that blizzard in Iowa?

Was that 18 inches of snow?

I am so mean.

Boo Hoo Said The Baby

Some amazing, miraculous, stupendous leaps and bounds of a Little Froggy:

When we read the story "Boo Hoo Baby," Froggy fake cries like the boo hoo baby. But she is sooo not an actress. It is a very fake cry that makes me fall off the sofa laughing. It's a soap opera cry "ahh huuh, eeeh huhhh, ahh huhhh." And yesterday at Target, when we heard a baby cry, I said, "boo hoo, said the baby," and Froggy said, "eeeh huuuh, eeeeh huhhh." It was completely without empathy like, "boo hoo, baby, get over it, we've all got problems, geessh!"

Froggy has invented her own little swear word. It's "Gaaaaahhhhhh." Froggydaddy and I believe that it may be the equivelant of "f-you," because she uses it when standing in her high chair (proudly, I might add), or when splashing in the dog's water, or knocking my books off the shelf. She says it with such joy and sense of accomplishment, I have a difficult time giving her the "disappointed mommy look." Gaaahhhhhhhh!

Froggy LOVES her daddy. After FD leaves for work, she'll knock on the door and say, "dadda?" Or she'll go to the window, open the blinds and look for him. I tell her that Dadda is at work and she looks at me like, "Oh, Gaaahhhh!"

She can say, "more, cheese, daddy, mama, Eesss (that's me), kitty, Buddy, meow, woof, cat, juice, shoes, hi, hello, bye, Kaela (her friend Makaela), boo hoo, moo, peeuuew, car, mimi (lambie), Elmo, Papa, Sissy, Night night, eat, puppy, Kiwi, Cado (avocad0), egg, nana (banana), no noooooo, yes, belly, boob, nose, eww, eye, toes, duck, quack, dog, leash, come, socks, pee pee, bottom, and has started putting words together, like, "Hi dadda," and "more cheese." What else do you really need to know in life?

She can also sign "eat, milk, more, and dog."

So far Froggy has mastered the harmonica, drums, flute, piano, kazoo and tambourine. And by 'mastered' I mean, she can blow, bang, whistle, slap and dance around the room like a little monkey. And what a happy child. She squeals so loudly, that I'm deaf in my right ear and the cats have taken permanent residence under our bed.

Froggy is such a fast little runner, I can barely keep up. And I'm not exaggerating. She is FAST. There's a reason I'm so tired at the end of the day.

At almost 18 months she loves copying her mama. She'll pick up the phone and in a very bossy voice say, "hello!, mmmmhmmmm, Gaaaahhhhh!"

I've had three sinus infections in five months, so I'm constantly blowing my nose. Froggy pulls the toilet paper off the role and blows her nose, loudly. She thinks this is hilarious.

Today, FD was changing Froggy's diaper and said, "there's something in her pocket." He then pulled out a tube of my lipstick. The stinker had opened her diaper bag, found my makeup bag, opened the zipper, stole the lipstick, put it in her pocket and put everything back in the diaper bag. The beginnings of a little Winona Ryder? I hope not. She also LOVES my credit card and hides it from me. I'm just waiting for a bill from Toy's r Us for three hundred stuffed animals.

She has eight teeth, can ride in her little Mickey Mouse car by herself, climbs anything and everything, has a fascination with belly buttons, shoes, and now lipstick. And most importantly, she is a sweet, sweet girl. I love this kid.

This says so much

I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
Round and round they sped.
I was disturbed at this;
I accosted the man.

"It is futile." I said.
"You can never-"

"You lie" he cried,
And ran on.

-Stephen Crane (1895)

I love this poem. It's for every 'realistic' person who told a 'dreamer' that something wasn't possible.

Fatty Fatty 2 by 4 Couldn't Get Through The Bathroom Door

So she did it on the floor.

I'm sorry, that's a disgusting rhyme from my childhood.

But on that note, I'm getting serious about losing my baby weight. Can you even call it baby weight when your baby is now walking, talking and poking my stomach because she likes the way it jiggles?

I've had it. I'm sick of making excuses. Excuses like, "I'm too tired to exercise" or "My only comfort in the day is ice cream!" It's all lies. Lies, I tell you, LIES!!!

When I met Froggydaddy I was 107lbs. Now...I'm not.

I'd like to take this moment to blame my child for my weight gain. While prego, I ate a tremendous amount of Ben & Jerry's, pasta, bread, and ultimately gained 43lbs. It was Froggy's fault. She craved carbs and sugar. What was I to do?

I've lost most of it, but still have 5 to go, to be at my pre-prego weight. And even then, I was a little chunky.

I'm now 123 lbs. And I'd like to be 115 lbs. At 5'3", that's a healthy weight and one I could be happy with. By April 1st, I will be that weight. And if I'm not, you have permission to call me Fatty, Fatty 2 by 4.

No more ice cream, no more burgers, no more pigging out at night when the baby goes to bed. I'm going to swim, walk, and jog this flabby butt to 115lbs. Hold me to it!

My New Toy!

Hey mom, I found the coolest toy in your purse today!

At first I thought it was a tiny pillow, like for my dolly. But then, I tore the sucker apart! It wasn't a pillow at all. It was a kitty sleeping bag! But before I could get the kitties all packed up for camping, I noticed the floors were dirty, and that's when I realized this wasn't a kitty sleeping bag, no, no, it was a mini mop for the kitchen floor. And I love helping mom clean!!! So I scrubbed the floors for her. She just laughed and took my picture.

I said, "thanks for the help, lazy bones!"

Then I pulled a piece off the mini mop and stuck it to my belly! It was so neat. I looked up at mom like, "did you know that when you're done mopping the floors, you can store this thing on your belly?" She laughed again and that's when I realized that it wasn't a mini mop at all.

It's was a belly bumper. So if I run into something (which I often do), my belly bumper will cushion the blow. Hey, thanks for looking out for me mom. Wait til I show all the kids on the playground how cool I am!

A poem by Anne Frank

I see the world being slowly

transformed into a wilderness

I hear the approaching thunder.

And yet, when I look up at the sky

I somehow feel that peace and

tranquility will return once more.

-Anne Frank (July 15, 1944)

Froggy Goes To The Zoo!

Wednesday, we skipped work and went to the zoo!

"This better be worth the drive!"

"What are you lookin at?"

She looks pretty good with a baby, don't you think?

I asked Froggy if we could go to the zoo everyday, she said, "oh mommy, if we went everyday, it wouldn't be special, now would it?" What a brilliant child! Okay, she didn't really say that, but she did say, "meow" and "oooo ahhh ahh".

"Why can't we pet the kitties, mama?"

"Because they'll eat you, honey."

"Meooowwww"

"J" and "S" laughing at the seals. They put on a show for us.

The flamingos were a big hit.

Froggy had no fear with the goats, putting her head on them for
a snuggle. I think she thought they were German Shepherds with
horns. She's an animal lover. Maybe she'll grow up to be a vet like her Grandpa!

It was a great day.